A world-famous expert on the Mediterranean diet, Dr. Antonia Trichopoulou, spoke to a Greek audience about “Extra Virgin Olive Oil: The Secrets We All Know” at the Food Expo in Athens this spring. “We all know olive oil,” she said; “it’s in our DNA. Olive oil is not only health … it is culture, it is tradition, it is the economy, it is the environment.”

Culture, tradition, and the economy: as Trichopoulou reminded her listeners, olive oil has been an important part of Greek life since ancient times. It remains central to the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle, which was ranked the “best diet overall” by US News and World Report this year. More than a food, olive oil is used in religious ceremonies, nutritional supplements, and cosmetics as well as cooking and dining. Olive groves are passed down through the generations, extended families gather to work on the annual harvest, and olive oil is both a crucial ingredient and a key export for Greece.

The environment: millions of olive trees extend their silvery green leaves across the hills, valleys, and plains of Greece, while olive oil appears in most traditional Greek dishes and on most Greek tables. This is good for both people and the ecosystem. As Trichopoulou mentioned to Greek Liquid Gold, “olive oil is a sustainable food, because the olive trees have a very low carbon footprint, and olive trees produce much less carbon dioxide than they use.”

Health: while many Greeks continue to enjoy a traditional healthy diet, Trichopoulou lamented that this is no longer predominant in Greece, which has slipped to number 26 in Bloomberg’s 2019 Healthiest Country Index, far below fellow olive oil producers Spain and Italy. She insisted that the health of Greeks would improve if more of them “returned to olive oil” and the Mediterranean diet.

After all, she added, olive oil contains more than 400 microcomponents, depending on the type of olive and the cultivation and production method. “We know several of them have strong antioxidant features, and there are some indications they may react on the mechanism of several diseases as prevention or cure”; we await the results of ongoing research for confirmation in clinical trials.

Meanwhile, Trichopoulou maintained, olive oil helps increase consumption of vegetables, because we can eat more of them if they are cooked in olive oil. For example, the traditional Greek dishes called “lathera,” or “oily,” are stews made with various vegetables, plenty of olive oil, onion, garlic, and herbs – dishes full of vitamins, antioxidants, flavonoids, and other nutrients. Wild greens are also common in the Greek version of the Mediterranean diet. More than 150 edible wild greens in Greece are boiled and eaten with olive oil or prepared in “a vast array of pies” with great nutritional value, including a much higher flavonoid content than wine, onions, or tea.

Trichopoulou emphasized that olive oil is a key component of the Mediterranean diet that first gained international attention for its health benefits in the mid 20th century and became better known in the 1990s. Designated an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2010, the Mediterranean diet was honored as 2019’s “best diet overall”by US News and World Report -- where it was also ranked the best diet for healthy eating, the best heart-healthy diet, best diabetes diet, best plant-based diet, and the easiest diet to follow.

Trichopoulou and other proponents of this diet were not surprised by these distinctions, but only by the fact that they didn’t come earlier (although the Med diet has been near the top of US News rankings in the past). After all, the Mediterranean diet is no passing fad; on the contrary, some of the healthiest people in the world have followed it for many years. A lifestyle as much as an eating plan, it differs from most popular diets in being based on time-tested traditional healthy eating and living patterns and the wide range of health benefits substantiated by increasing numbers of scientific studies.

The health benefits associated with the Med diet include reducing the risk or seriousness of inflammation, depression, obesity, bone loss, cognitive decline, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Yet the Mediterranean diet does not require calorie counting or avoidance of flavorful foods or wine—to the contrary.

It is a largely plant-based diet, with plenty of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and olive oil; daily dairy, olives, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices; moderate amounts of white meat, fish, eggs, legumes, and wine; and limited red meat, processed foods, and sweets. The lifestyle includes regular physical activity, adequate rest, sociability, and the use of traditional local seasonal products.

During decades of research on the Mediterranean diet, Trichopoulou has shared her discoveries about its health benefits around the globe. She helped develop the first Mediterranean diet food pyramid as well as a Mediterranean diet score that quantifies observance of this diet and simplifies research on its effects on health. She is now president of the Hellenic Health Foundation, Vice President of Filaios Friends of Olive Oil Society, and Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center of Nutrition at the University of Athens School of Medicine.

The work of Antonia Trichopoulou and her collaborators has enabled countless health care professionals, researchers, students, and consumers worldwide to learn about this healthy traditional diet and lifestyle, often through the Mediterranean diet pyramid that introduces it with a concise, simple graphic overview. _________________________________________________________________________

Comments

MediterraneanDietHealthBenefitsWebLinks

The Mediterranean diet was again ranked the Best Diet Overall, as well as the Best Diet for Healthy Eating, Best Diet for Diabetes, Best Plant-Based, the Easiest Diet to Follow, and the 2nd best Heart-Healthy diet, in the U.S. News & World Report annual rankings.

US News and World Report has judged the Mediterranean diet the best overall diet, as well as the best diet for diabetes; it also tied for first as the best heart-healthy diet. The benefits of the Med diet and several other diets are discussed here.

"A new study published by a group of Australian researchers suggests that eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and fish, such as the Mediterranean diet, can help reduce the symptoms of depression."

More good news about the Mediterranean diet: "The study suggests that the adoption of a Mediterranean dietary pattern has a beneficial role in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease in populations that include individuals with and without diabetes."

As Mary West wrote for Olive Oil Times, "Researchers found that following the Mediterranean diet may reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease by 25 percent. They also got some clues as to why this may be the case."

"Researchers found a 25 percent reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease among study participants who consumed a diet rich in plants and olive oil and low in meats and sweets. The team also explored why and how a Mediterranean diet might mitigate risk of heart disease and stroke by examining a panel of 40 biomarkers, representing new and established biological contributors to heart disease."

“The ‘PREDIMED’ study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2013 conclusively showed that the Mediterranean diet group had a third less heart disease, diabetes and stroke than the low-fat group. They also lost a little weight and had less memory loss,” according to this “randomised control trial that looked at a large group of people over a long period of time.” Extra virgin olive oil seemed to be the most important factor.

Eating a Mediterranean diet may protect people from some of the harm of long-term exposure to air pollution, and reduce their risk of dying from heart attacks, stroke and other causes of death, according to new research.

Argues that “the Mediterranean diet is a fabulous way to eat, not just because it’s nutritious and health-promoting, but because it simply tastes good,” explains the health benefits of various elements of the diet, and includes 2 recipes.

“[T]he study found that a plant-based, extra-virgin olive oil diet is cheaper than the most economical recommendations for healthy eating coming from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).”

A Spanish study comparing two groups of women 60 to 80 years old showed a far lower risk of breast cancer in those following a Mediterranean diet with added extra virgin olive oil, compared with those following a low-fat diet.

Discusses a recent study suggesting the Mediterranean diet has "a 'powerful' effect, cutting deaths from all causes" in "people who have already suffered from cardiovascular disease" as well as in the general population, and compares the effect of statins.

"The Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) and consumption of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) has been shown to be beneficial for numerous cancers including breast cancer, bladder cancer, brain cancer, prostate cancer, and now two recent studies report the MedDiet may play a role in reducing risk of colorectal cancer."

A recent review of scientific studies found that olive oil was one of the foods that can "help alleviate the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. The authors determined the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) was one of the eating plans that are beneficial for this condition," since most of the helpful foods they pinpointed are part of the MedDiet.

As Mary West writes, “A Mediterranean diet, rich in unsaturated fats and low in carbohydrates, was a more effective strategy than an iso-caloric low-fat diet to dramatically reverse morbid fat storage sites” in a recent clinical trial.

In a University of South Australia study, "Researchers found that consuming a Mediterranean diet rich in vegetables, legumes, fruit, nuts, fish oil and extra virgin olive oil reduced depression and improved quality of life."

"A new study suggests that women who ate a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables, fish, high-quality olive oil, whole grains and legumes and low in red meat increased their chances of getting pregnant and achieving a live birth by 65-68 percent."

According to Mercacei, "the first long-term pan-European clinical trial that analyzes the impact of the Mediterranean Diet on bone density in older adults" showed this result after "one year following the Mediterranean dietary pattern supplemented with vitamin D3 ... it significantly reduced the rate of bone loss in the femoral neck (the area that connects the axis of the thigh bone with its rounded head, which adapts to the hip joint) in individuals with osteoporosis."

Mary West quotes Céline Phan: “We cannot assume from this observational study that following the MedDiet will reduce the risk of psoriasis; however, it highlights an inverse association between the MedDiet and the severity of the disease."

"A new study in the U.K. suggests the Mediterranean diet may be particularly protective of stroke in women over 40, regardless of whether they take hormone replacement therapy or have experienced menopause."

As Mary West writes for Olive Oil Times, "Consuming a minimum of 25 to 29 grams of fiber from Mediterranean diet plant foods is significantly tied to better health and longevity, including a lower ... risk of diabetes."

"The main result of the study is that cooking vegetables with extra virgin olive oil favors the bioactive compounds, such as carotenoids and polyphenols that are present in vegetables we find in sofrito, to move to the olive oil, which enables the absorption and bioactivity of these compounds."